TEACHERS in the NEU union are walking out in England. The union says more than 100,000 teachers could take part, affecting 23,000 out of around 26,000 schools.

Schools across Harlow will be closed today.

There is a picket line of twenty or more outside Burnt Mill Academy on First Avenue.

NEU members are striking in pursuit of an above-inflation pay rise, funded by the government rather than out of existing school budgets. The value of teachers’ salaries has fallen over the past decade, resulting in a recruitment and retention crisis in schools. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, senior teachers have experienced a 13% real-terms drop in salaries between 2010 and 2022, equivalent to a £6,600 pay cut reports The Guardian.

The government announced last summer that most teachers would receive a pay rise of about 5%, with starting salaries up by 8.9%, but with inflation in double digits, NEU members have rejected the offer and voted for strike action.